Ex-Liberal Han Dong is not seeking re-election in the federal riding of Don Valley North, saying his former party has told him it has a new candidate and he doesn’t want to split the vote between the Liberals and the Conservatives.
“After speaking with my family, team and supporters, I have decided to not participate in this election to give the (Liberals) the best chance to form a government and protect us from the threats posed by Donald Trump,” Dong, an Independent MP, wrote on social media.
“I am disappointed not to be part of this important campaign.”
Dong left the Liberal caucus in March 2023. He said he was working to clear his name after a media report cited unidentified sources suggesting Dong advised a senior Chinese diplomat to hold off on freeing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians being held in China.
A commission of inquiry into foreign interference found that classified information corroborated Dong’s denial of the claim that he suggested China should delay releasing Kovrig and Spavor.
Dong did not suggest that Beijing should extend their detention, the commission’s final report said in January.
“I am grateful for the many people who have defended me and tried to address this injustice,” Dong wrote.
A general election is slated for April 28. A nomination notice posted to the Liberal party’s website says Maggie Chi is running for the riding Dong represented.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney was in Ottawa on Sunday, meeting with a family in an event closed to media.
The NDP, meanwhile, denounced comments made by a Toronto-area Liberal candidate about a Conservative candidate who had a bounty placed on him by Hong Kong police last December.
The Toronto Association for Democracy in China says in a news release that Liberal candidate Paul Chiang told a Chinese-language newspaper at a news conference three months ago that everyone at the event could claim the bounty on Conservative Joe Tay if they turned him in.
Speaking in Port Moody, B.C., alongside NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan condemned Chiang’s words but did not explicitly call for him to step out of the race.
She said Canadians need to stand together against hostile foreign governments and the NDP is the only party that takes foreign interference seriously.
Chiang apologized Friday for his words, calling them “deplorable.” In a media statement, the Liberal party said Chiang “recognized that he made a significant lapse in judgment.”
“He apologized and has been clear that he will stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong as they fight to safeguard their human rights and freedoms,” said the party’s statement.
The Conservatives say Carney should drop Chiang.
Speaking in Toronto on Sunday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he finds it “incredible” that Chiang called for a Canadian citizen to be handed to a foreign government.
“What does that say about whether Mark Carney would protect Canadians?”
Article by Alessia Passafiume.
With files from Jim Bronskill.
